Exercising the brain to prevent cognitive decline or improve focus is becoming a more common activity in today's society with applications and web pages, such as, for example, Lumosity.com. The applications are generally about stimulating the neural pathways in parts of the brain attributable to memory or focus in such a way as to strengthen and reinforce existing neural connections. The theory of brain training, in part, relies on the fact that the human brain remains plastic and creates new connections through increased stimulation of the relevant pathways.
In certain recent studies, it has been discovered that the brain tends to “think” and “pay attention” to events (actions, sounds, sensations, tastes, visuals) that produced a pleasurable or rewarding experience in the past. For simplicity, pleasurable or rewarding will be consider events (as broadly defined) that stimulate the brain to produce dopamine and other neurochemical reactions associated with pleasure or reward. In lay terms, these may be considered “feel good” activities.
Researchers at John Hopkins University conducted a study with a small sample of participants. The participants were instructed that they would be rewarded (money in this case) for certain behavior. The reward would be X for identifying “green” objects on a computer screen and 6X for identifying “red” objects on the same computer screen. The next day, the same participants were ask to find certain shapes on the screen but color was no longer relevant for the activity. The participants' brain activity was monitored using positron emission tomography (“PET”). Because of the previously associated large reward for the discovery of red objects, the research identified that the participants tended to focus on the red objects even though no reward was in fact contemplated by the on-going study. The research identified that the participants focus on red was unconscious, and the brain was stimulated by dopamine (and possibly other neuro chemical reactions associated with pleasure) when the red objects appeared.
The research further identified that the higher the dopamine or the like in the brain based on the previously rewarded behavior, the harder it was for the participant to complete the new or repurposed task. In other words, when a person sees or experiences something associated with a past reward, his/her brain flushes with dopamine unconsciously and regardless of an expectation of a reward. Because of the neurochemical reaction, the brain focuses on the event causing the reaction regardless of the conscious effort of the individual.
Such unconscious activity indicates that self-control is more difficult in activities associated with previously rewarding experiences. The research also suggests why, among other things, it may be more difficult to maintain a diet for extended periods of time or break an addiction.
The study concluded that there was an opportunity to attempt to develop a pharmaceutical to curb the neurochemical reactions associated with rewards or pleasure based on past experiences. Use of pharmaceuticals, however, may have unintended consequences including, for example, depression or the like. Thus, against this background, it would be desirous to develop systems and methods to disassociate the memory of a reward with events or objects.